Here - 5 mins late [Westin St. John]

too funny {story of my life...} - will catch up later

DavidnRobin said:

too funny {story of my life...} - will catch up later

Click to expand...

Did you miss the Westin Ferry?

Bags packed and ready to go - uhoh - 65# for one bag and 41# for the other - $90 extra for over 50#, but only $25 for extra bag (talk about fuzzy math...) - no way - rearranged bags 49# and 50# exactly - carried on snorkel stuff - need to find a carry-on bag that fits snorkel stuff better.

Delta red-eye from SFO-ATL - didn't sleep even w/ ambien (even Robin) - too funny she falls asleep on SFO tarmac and awakes thinking we are in ATL - had to give her the bad news that we hadn't taken off yet.

OK-OK - use SP-FF conversion for upgrades... wish I did this for our upcoming SFO-LHR flight - but gonna convert SP for US miles when I get back for StarAlliance flights...

I fell deep asleep on seats in ATL (but not my love) with the world buzzing around for about 90 mins - woke up in a haze to board plane after some crappy coffee (Starbucks line was at least 30 min long) and a quick greasy breakfast sandwich at Chick-o-filet (sp?}

flight taxis on tarmac for about 50 mins before take off - get to STT 30 mins late (2:30) and miss the Westin taxi to ferry by 5 mins - next is at 5:15 - nope...

take stuffed taxi to ferry at CA ($18 for 2p w/2 bags) - 5mins late for 3PM ferry - of course made 2 stops before ferry - trying to get to OConnor rentals at WSJ to pick-up car by 4:30...

take a fantastic taxi ride to RH - w/ Torch - turns into part tour (cars kept whizzing by us, but pleanty of time to make 4PM ferry) - with going to the road that crosses the top of STT - beautiful views over there - he shows us where he lives - where about everyone lives of note - a bit of history - all w/ a very heavy accent that I can make out - Robin could barely understand him - luckily I keep up w/ island news - so I could follow him for the most part. from CA-RH $24 (2p/2bags) - give him $40 - well worth it.

take the RH-CB ferry ($14 - 2p w/2bags) and then taxi to Westin ($14 - 2p w/ 2bags... sensing a theme here...)

get to Westin 5 mins late for OConnor rentals - closed - oh well - St John market is an easy walk

checking in at front desk - uhoh - my villas is "out-of-order"!!!??? wtf does that mean?

lol....So far you are killing me (and scaring me).

Can you get all the kinks worked out before next Friday!

OOO = 'Out of Office' and 'Out of Order'

you betcha (as then say around MIN) - not staying in our villa - something is wrong with ours ('holes in wall' and 'bees nest on balcony'...) sez the Front Desk... not many options... and I am way to tired for this - trying to 'go slow' but obviously not slow enough

"Still is Still Moving to Me" Willie Nelson (and Toots and the Maytals)

ok - ok - not going to get any info from desk girl (never trust anyone under 30...) other than my options are to spend a week in 3419 (opposite end from our building) or get 2 weeks in a BV 2Bd Loft so we dont have to move(tempting but no parking or semi-private pool - and stolen BBQs... )

how about a 3Bd Pool Villa (please, please, please)??? - you know i tried nicely... nope, sold out ...

no mention of SP or any compensation - other than 'sorry'

(o well - go slow... right?)

anyway... not going to get my villa, or may not until next Fri - meaning we will have to move at some point {drag} - decide to stay in 3419 - Robin agrees - doesn't want BV for same reasons - i luv her...

no car - no staying in our deeded villa - no notice of not staying in our villa - luckily we missed the ferry because I would have been out of sorts if we arrived at 6PM and had to deal with switching villas - wouldn't want to go 'American Airlines' on them (sorry gonna need to look at last year's thread to understand...)

... and what about my secret rum that i stashed in our villa last year???

trying to catch-up and still remember - is this what Twitter is for?

no rum punches when the ferry drops you off
cutting down on Iguana Shuttles (signs are down)
no water on ferry or at Front Desk (uhoh - foolish move WSJ)...
bad economy is hurting all...
I guess that is what happens when you go from Cat6 to Cat5

I wonder if OOO means that they haven't finished with our villa?

3419 is somewhat redecorated with Westin style - We like it - but that is us - the Carib-style had gotten tacky.

flat sceen TVs (w/ HDMI) - dark furniture - new tables - new drapes - some fixtures are new - new carpets (with stains of course) - fresh paint

bathrooms and kitchen are still the same - the shower in Main Bd always cracks me up - almost like getting into a head on a sailboat - gotta be tough on old folks... {what a minute - i resemble that remark...}

Heavenly shower heads (vs showerhead coming out of wall like last time...) - nice.

i took pics.

gotta love the weather here - we eat down below at resort - tired/hungry - asleep at 9:30 - i find out why i want back in my villa asap...

Great update!!! Sounds like you guys are being really good sports.

boom...boom...boom...

3419 is at end of building - closest to the road - and woke up repeatedly by locals blastin tunes (wild rapid-fire Carib rap) while driving by - normally i might like this music but not at 2-3AM. Then at around 4:30AM someone ralphing and swearing between ralphing (dreamt i was back in college). thought it was a neighbor and was going to yell to stfu - until i realize that it is 2 guys out on the road (must have been a long walk from CB...?) - sounds like he is losing a lung... idiot.

the sounds of the island jungle are loud in the Bd - millions of bugs all chirping at once - normally soothing - but after being awaken too many times - hoping for some peace&quiet - i bring out my bose speakers and iPod that I have a 'white noise' track. ahhh... back to sleep - of course Robin is dead to the world.

wake-up at 8:30 - Robin is still out (11 hours of sleep and counting... she is cute laying there having stolen all the covers to protect her from the ceiling fan wind.

I get up and walk down to OConnor to pick-up car - sunny warm morning.

unfortunately not a warm sunny personality for the local woman at OConnor - normally they are grouchy (cold), but she takes the prize. can't get her to even come close to changing her poker face - almost say something - unbelievable that they would run a rental agency with such a grouchy person.

she makes me fill out the vehicle dings (many of course) - i take pics also - and mumble under my breath that i am way too tired for this crap - don't care if she hears me - as i am sure she doesn't care wtf i think

no matter - i think we are going to rent at STT airport next time and take car barge over now i know both ways to RH.

off to STJ Market (very) close by to pick up essentials (bread, milk, butter, jam, water) - no prices marked on anything - tough to shop at a market with no prices on an island where things all already expensive. Counter person has same demeanor as OConnor woman. Can't get a smile or even a response - too tired w/o coffee to try. ...seems to be a lot of that "400 years" anger going on - I guess even having a job ain't good enough

get back to villa - and my sweetness has finally arose from her beauty slumber - wow - 12 hours... poor thing was exhusted - she slept soundly (at least one of us did...)

new coffee machine to figure out - doesn't have a coffee pot - we bring ground Peets coffee with us (Arabian Mocha Java - we are coffee snobs...) - new machine makes good strong coffee

Make some toast, butter and jam to have w/coffee - go back for a refill - and what are those tiny things crawlin about!? friggin tiny tiny ants all over the crumbs! - can barely see them. hmmm... no bug spray and don't really want to spray - just going to keep clean for now. I really want back into our villa now - away from road and closer to pool.

speaking of bugs - even the locals are saying how bad the mosquitoes have been during May - along with the rains they had - looks like the mosquitoes have abated somewhat - luckily we bought a bunch of OFF (unscented), but I hate having that stuff on me.

from Robin..
like the new leaf soaps
new lighted make-up mirror
lousier toilet paper and tissues
changed lighting in bathroom
new full-length mirror in master bath
dish soap, 1 box bounce, and some laundry detergent (2 boxes Tide), 1 box snuggle, 1 bag dishwasher soap ($2 more per each at store - WSJ again being foolish) - we bought our own dishwasher soap pellets (electrosol), but having laundry detergent like last year would be nice
DR lights do not dim now (too bright)
new fans
new framed pictures

walked down for lunch at the main pool (Snorkles) - at least people working for Westin are friendly - get some food and drinks (Painkiller and Bushwacker) - relaxing beach scene - only water toys left is one water trampoline. there is cocktail service on beach, but need to ask waitress to remember you (no big deal anyway - quite capable of walking 30 steps to bar) Drinks seem smaller and weaker. We were going to go into main pool but forgot towel card - no matter - decise to go up to our building pool.

always refreshing - new floats - and NEW BBQs built-in (woohoo) - last year they had portable propane BBQs, and old ones were OOO - can't wait to use these. Hang out at pools and meet some week 22/23 owners. All seem unhappy with the changing priorities at the Westin (most complaints were about the reduction in Iguana shuttles). I am okay with walking down, and taking them up - but also good to have a car. One coupls said they waited 35 mins after calling - and missed thier friends - that seems odd - why not just walk at some point - its like 5 mins.

new slogan may need to be... "Lower Your Expecations"

we hang out until sun starts to go down and here come the mosquitoes - first plan was to BBQ some burgers, but hadn't gone to market yet - after cleaning up - decide to drive to CB (good plan...).

Drive in the back road to CB - where you come in at the Beach Bar - crowded - no parking - the old school field is no longer open - make another circle - and find parking in front of the Fish Trap. we always seem to eat there because we seem to find parking there.

The Fish Trap is crowded so we wait in bar and I have a very fresh Newcastle Brown Ale (yum) and Robin has a lemon-coconut rum drink. While waiting we meet a local guy (Steve) who is there for a party. I chide him for drinking Jaeger (yuck) and he offers to buy our drinks... nice guy - table is ready.

Robin loves her seared Ahi Tuna (and Savignon Blanc- my Wahoo was dry (that's what I get for ordering a fish called Wahoo) - good enough - I have another Newcastle (good when fresh).

Off to the Beach Bar to drink our dessert (me: Bushwacker. Robin: Lime in the Coconut) - so good I have another. We run into Steve - and I buy him another Jaeger. Turns out that there were having a Wake of sorts - his father had just passed away - I had heard the story in the news - sad. We toast to him. Steve is really nice guy - offers us a drink, but I am maxed - especially having to drive back to the Westin. He has lived on STT/STJ all his life and runs a trucking company - good story teller - learn a few things about life on STJ from a native Islander. We part ways and head home to crash - slept like a log.

Thanks for the update. I almost feel like I'm there. Of course it helps that it's 75 and gorgeous here today.

really need to get going earlier - still draggin - turned out that our Bd window was slightly cracked - no wonder is sounded like the jungle life right in the room

we didn't get out after about noon after coffee and toast (rained hard in the morning) - drove over to Francis Bay (north of Maho) - really nice - perfect for kids - sandy bottom - calm - water is actually a bit cooler this year (like 83 vs 84...) - and not so hot outside . Snorkled over to Maho point by Little Maho and the Maho campgrounds, and back. Saw millions of small fish with Pelicans feasting - lots of soft coral - a stingray up close with another fish shadowing him, a medium baricuda

hand-in-hand... perfect...

off to Woody's for happy hour - its Sunday so parking aint so bad.

Sierra Nevada beer and Mango Diaquiri for Robin. Get a seat inside and have Shark bites (yum), shrimps and Fish sandwich with pasta (yum) and more Mango Daqs (its happy hour afterall.

Back to the Villa - and lo and behold - we can move to OUR villa - yahoo!

Go down and pick up keys - no thanks - we will move ourselves...

boom-boom - we grab everything - 20 quick trips back-forth - and back home... ahhh....
we love our villa - so glad we ended up on the inside by the pool/BBQs

uhoh- what's that smell? like wood fire smoke...

I guess thay had to smoke out the bees - or maybe fumigation - both? some catch on fire? damn - going to have to get some scented candles.

we havent shopped yet and our friends are just arriving on the Westin ferry - quick drive below to pick them up - at least they dont have too bother to move. Their luggage will find its way - off to Starfish for food...

$300 later - and forgot $15 off coupon (w/$100 purchase) - oh well - next time (hopefully). The beer/wine/liquor store is next to Starfish - oops -my AMEX got turned off (damn forgot to call and tell them I was going to USVI) - have to call and fix. Picked up some yummy Mango Cruzan Rum - and some white wines (chard and blanc) - case of Sierra Nevada...

who the hell bought 3 bottles of kalamata olives for $9 each!!!!??? gotta keep an eye on those girls...

LOVE those new BBQs!

cooked some great burgers on the pool BBQs - simple quick dinner - careful not to burn the hair on your forearms when lighting.

we really love the new furnishings - and villa look - friends who also went last year really remarked on how nice everything looked - showers have been retiled - Heavenly shower head...

nice thing about moving is that we get to double up some stuff - and everything is nice and clean again

and too many shots of Mango rum...
g'nite

David - I love the on-going trip report - keep it up!

Great story, especially the part about bringing your own Peet's! Please post pictures (go slow) and have FUN!

random stuff...

Secret Rum was still in our villa! - hid in upper kitchen cabinet - everyone surprised no one found it

we bought 4 NY strip steaks w/ black pepper and garlic sauce\
4 chicken breasts - all frozen in soft-side collor packed w/ check-in - still frozen when we arrive.

Of course the 1# Peets - are friends brought 2#s of Peets - yea! They (Steve and Dot = SnD) flew 1st class out here on FF *A points and could carry up to 75#

1L Grey Goose Vodka in Nalgene container (need something other than Run sometimes)
Didn't bring wine this time - but maybe next - moderate (drinkable) wine here is like $60/bottle - yes - we are coffee, beer and wine snobs (damn Californians)

Portable Bose speakers w/ RCA (mini-mini) - gotta have music - it was reggae day yesterday - over 12 hours on shuffle until it ended - we live music on even when we are out. The villas have a new Bose system - with speakers and bass unit. The one in 3419 wasnt setup - but ours is. I still like our portable one - esp going out to the pool.

Love being a few steps from the pool and BBQs form our villa - may not seem like a big thing, but it is great to be able to get back and forth really quickly - No one seems to be using those nice BBQs

When we were in 3419 - Housekeeping kept coming in to see if we needed anything - weird - must have thought we were Hotel stayers. I prefer them to stay away - we can self-manage are dirt.

Robin brings a fitted sheet (high quality cotton) for the Heavenly mattress (not CA king like at home - so this sheet is just for our TS stays) - great idea since we hate those wrinkles the flat sheets have when tossing - and can use as packing material to protect things in our check-in bag

tons of Costco sunscreen and OFF (gonna need it - already have mosquitoe bites - they are tiny mother-buggers)

Lots of feral cats - seem more than I recall - lucky (for me) we cant take them home - Robin has big heart.

Lots of chickens/roosters - again - more than previous?

ok - ok - as you can see this Monday morning - killin' time while the new arrivals get off of West coast time (11AM here) - I have already messed up the sheets, rearranged the stuff from the rapid move - had coffee/toast - been out to the pool...

Robin tells me it rained hard last night (I never woke during the night, but got to bed late). we had the windows open still trying to get the fire-smoke smell out (smells like a campground fire) - it is strong in our Bd - can't smell in the rest of the villa anymore - i am on a mission to get it out of our room - it is not in the drapes or bedding (if it were in the bedding. A SVP of SVO that is head of "I am pissed off..." would be avoiding my calls - it aint so bad. I think it is the walls - from the pool you can see a boarded opening on the side paneling where the bees nest could have been.

Front desk told me that week 22 of our villa was empty - even an Iguana Shuttle person had heard about the bees and knew our villa was OOO.

I hear a lot of shuttles - so not sure why everyone is out of sorts. Another good thing about being out of 3419 is the shuttles (and cars) turn around there - ands less road noise now...

I have a feeling that a lot of the shuttles are ferrying people in/out of the BV villas - they seems a lot of activity down there when we are walking along. We unaminously voted that the Hillside people RULZ! Esp after the burgers and late nite pool visit. of course - that Cruzan Mango Rum helps - watch out for that stuff - it tastes like it has no alcohol.

Is it Monday morning already...? So glad we are here for 2 weeks.

OK - time to get those sleepheads up!!! Here goes the music...!
Later.

added - o well... guess i will download photos...
Tugger friends should FaceBook us... (and visa versa)

I've read many times that WSJ is one of the most difficult exchanges in the timeshare universe. This thread has me wondering why.

David,
We were there weeks 16 & 17 and love your posts. I am sitting here reading them to my husband and we are both laughing our heads off. When you described the facial expressions of the woman at the car rental and grocery store we both said that's St. John! Then we both sighed; wishing we were there. Pam

K2Quick said:

I've read many times that WSJ is one of the most difficult exchanges in the timeshare universe. This thread has me wondering why.

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Because it is a special place and heaven on earth. I go twice a year.

Go to the Beach ALREADY!!!

Get to the beach; don't wait for late risers. You've been there awhile now, you gotta get out of the villa and hit the beach (provided there are no swells).

Totally relate to the O'Connor's experience. We had happily rented from them for 7 years, until this spring. When I finally realized our flight would get in too late to get our car on Saturday, I called to cancel Saturday only, saying I would pick up on Sunday. Get there on Sunday, no record of our reservation, too bad. WTF? I call their Cruz Bay office and insist they go through the reservations, find it, and give me a car. They finally (two hours later) admit their mistake and grudgingly hand over a Grand Cherokee that appears to be someone's personal car (we had reserved a Liberty). No apology, and terrible attitude when we turned it in the following Saturday morning. I don't know what's up there; they used to be so nice.

Looking forward to more of your trip report, but I expect you all to hit the beach. Looking forward more to our 2011 trip, the first time the kid's Spring Break coincides with our weeks so we get to use both of our WSJ weeks (17 and 18) together for the first time.

Lori